Prince of Darkness

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Prince of Darkness

R

Released Oct 21, 1987

1h 42m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

63%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

61%

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10,000+ Ratings

Poking around in a church cellar, a priest (Donald Pleasence) finds an otherworldly vial filled with slime. Frightened, he brings his discovery to a circle of top scholars and scientists, who eventually learn that the strange liquid is the essence of Satan. The slime then begins to seep out, turning some of the academics into zombified killers. As the possessed battle the survivors, student Kelly (Susan Blanchard) is infected by a large quantity of the liquid and becomes Satan personified.

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Critics Consensus

Prince of Darkness has a handful of chillingly clever ideas, but they aren't enough to put John Carpenter's return to horror at the same level as his classic earlier outings.

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Phil Hoad

Guardian

Close to a decade's experience in horror pays off, with Carpenter working the audience with jump-scares and revolting demises like an old pro.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 25, 2018

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Michael Wilmington

Los Angeles Times

John Carpenter seems to be hovering between cold-eyed mechanical fear-making and horror camp.

Oct 5, 2018

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

''Prince of Darkness'' is a real tour de force, and a welcome return.

Oct 5, 2018

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

While the film’s heady concepts don’t ultimately amount to much in the film’s otherwise exciting conclusion, they make for an interesting journey of discovery alongside Carpenter’s somewhat forgettable cast of characters.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 6, 2024

Full Review

Justine Smith

Vague Visages

The pitiful villainy at play within Prince of Darkness only points to humanity’s fundamental weakness: the fragility of our mortal bodies and our inability to face that truth.

Jun 5, 2024

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Kristy Strouse

Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying

This take on demonic horror is truly a strange bit of cinema, but a welcoming addition to a long list of talented work. Come for Carpenter, stay for the weird.

Dec 1, 2023

Full Review

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Nick O

Well, it was only a matter of time before liquid Satan managed to spray himself into some grad student’s mouth and start turning everyone into zombies, bringing about the apocalypse.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/02/25

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Ian S

Where it all started to go wrong for Carpenter and he started making predominantly bad movies. This movie was average in 87 and is just as average now. Donald Pleasence basically plays Loomis in a priest's garb and even his lines sound the same, going on about the great evil. As for the music score, it grates even before the movie starts and you realize how similar and most of the John Carpenter music scores sound. Apart from nice visuals, it's pretty forgettable.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/22/25

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Farah R

John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness attempts a different approach to a familiar story, and while it succeeds in some respects, it fails miserably in others. The pacing is too slow to maintain investment in the plot or characters, resulting in a dull viewing experience. Despite being a horror movie, it does very little to scare. And the ending leaves one wondering what the point of all that was.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/30/25

Full Review

tim s

The film's pacing is deliberately slow, but at its core, Prince of Darkness is a thought-provoking movie, to say the least. It nicely blends religious beliefs and scientific theory. The existential dread that slowly takes over the church setting and infiltrates the characters’ psyches is profoundly unsettling. Without giving anything away, the final scene will both make you jump and leave you pondering what lies on the other side.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/25/25

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Brad S. R

Beautifully shot and acted, but dreadfully dull in too many places.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/02/25

Full Review

Jelisije J

Starts off a bit slow and a bit formulaic, but at the end of the day your left with a good memorable original horror film that you will never forget.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/25

Full Review

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John Carpenter

Director

Donald Pleasence

Priest

Jameson Parker

Brian Marsh

Victor Wong

Prof. Howard Birack

Lisa Blount

Catherine Danforth

Dennis Dun

Walter

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Synopsis

Poking around in a church cellar, a priest (Donald Pleasence) finds an otherworldly vial filled with slime. Frightened, he brings his discovery to a circle of top scholars and scientists, who eventually learn that the strange liquid is the essence of Satan. The slime then begins to seep out, turning some of the academics into zombified killers. As the possessed battle the survivors, student Kelly (Susan Blanchard) is infected by a large quantity of the liquid and becomes Satan personified.

Director: John Carpenter
Producer: Larry J. Franco
Screenwriter: John Carpenter
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Alive Films
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 21, 1987, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 6, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.9M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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